Watt red was proof that VAR is only human
Celtic felt aggrieved with VAR at the Bernabeu the other night.
After Moritz Jenz had handed Real Madrid an early spot-kick – a decision I felt was justified – Matt O’Riley was penalised for the ball striking his elbow from close range.
At the time, I shared the Hoops’ frustration at that one.
But while Ange Postecoglou’s side attacked well and scored a superb goal through Jota, I thought they deserved to lose.
Likewise, Rangers were on the receiving end of another heavy defeat to Ajax, and they will also be delighted to see the back of the Champions League.
VAR played its part for Celtic last weekend when they got a penalty at Livingston.
The previous day, Dundee United’s Tony Watt was sent off by referee John Beaton after VAR reviewed footage of his tackle on Sean Goss of Motherwell.
United appealed and that decision was overturned.
That underlined that the whistler was right the first time when he didn’t even award a free-kick, and should have stuck to his guns.
It just goes to show that VAR is there to offer footage and different angles of an incident to help give a clearer picture.
However, it still comes down to human opinion most of the time. It’s not factual.
In VAR’s first few weeks in the Premiership, we have seen some teething problems. But, overall, I think it’s been pretty good.
VAR is nor perfect. And it never will be. But it is more helpful than harmful.
All everyone wants to see is consistency when it comes to decisions.
And, to be honest, it looks as though the rules surrounding handballs inside the penalty box are as clear as mud.
That goes for Scottish game, the English Premier League and the Champions League.
We see similar incidents every week – but different decisions being made.
It’s very much down to the interpretation of the referee or VAR of the position of a player’s arm.
That is always going to lead to arguments and disagreements.
VAR should be beneficial – but it’s never going to be perfect.